1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and correction method of color misregistration in an image which are applicable to the color printer, color photocopier, and a multifunction peripheral wherein the color misregistration of the image formed on a recording medium is corrected.
2. Description of Related Art
In the color photocopiers developed in recent years, efforts are being made to solve the problem of color misregistration caused by a rise in temperature of the apparatus during the feed of the recording medium with the lapse of time. In many of these efforts, the feed of the recording medium is suspended under a predetermined condition (e.g., after detection of a predetermined temperature change, after passage of a predetermined number of sheets, or after lapse of a predetermined time), whereby color misregistration is corrected.
In another effort to solve the problem, to prevent suspension of the feed of the recording medium, a registration mark is formed in the image boundary sandwiched between the image area of the page formed on the transfer belt and the image area on the next page during paper feed, whereby this registration mark is detected and color misregistration is corrected.
In connection to the conventional example, an image forming apparatus is disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-85234 (FIG. 9 on page 3). In this image forming apparatus, each registration mark formed in the space between the sheets of paper on the transfer belt is read, and the central position of this registration mark is analyzed, so that mechanical or electrical correction of the image forming device is performed. This arrangement allows the required registration correction to be carried out parallel with the image formation by the image forming device.